A large part of aftermarket manufacturers' marketing agendas is attending events such as the HOT ROD Power Tour, select races, and car shows to put a face to their company for the masses. Often, they will bring along a vehicle that shows their parts in use to give potential customers a better idea of how they work. The '71 'Cuda you see here is the latest project from Keisler Engineering, makers of transmission swap kits, primarily, and the project began as a search for a hood.

2/14Here's Keisler's latest company calling card, a '71 'Cuda built to beat on.

Company owner Shafi Keisler was restoring a '71 'Cuda 383 car back in 1994 and needed a Shaker hood. He found one in the classifieds and went to get it, but the seller threw a curveball into the deal. He knew how badly Shafi needed the hood, so he would only sell it if Shafi also bought the fender gills and grille, plus a '71 Barracuda parts car. Shafi bit and hauled the hulk and parts home.

It turns out the initially unwanted parts car was unique: It had Hemi Orange paint, bucket seats with orange houndstooth upholstery, air conditioning, tint, power steering, and power brakes. It also had a frozen 440. Taking inventory of his spare parts, Shafi figured he could fix it up and sell it to recoup his overspending for the hood. After six months of thrashing, the car was done and he unloaded it for six grand, only to (wait for it...) regret that decision years later. In 2001, he tracked down the guy he sold it to and bought it back. Then it sat for four years until after Keisler's Maximum Overdrive '65 Corvette had fulfilled its duty as the company showpiece. And so began work on the Maximum Overdrive Kuda.

Keisler Engineering had shown prototypes of its new A-41 automatic transmission for a few years, and MOK was the perfect vehicle to show it in action. Doubling the excitement, that was the same year (2005) Mopar came out with the 6.1L Hemi for the SRT8 versions of the Magnum, Charger, and 300C. Keisler bought one of the engines for the '71 but then quickly learned that there was no aftermarket support in the way of controllers, and Mopar's German owners were not about to help. The car had already been stripped and body and interior work was under way, but Shafi really wanted that 6.1 in it, so the project was mothballed for a few years until the aftermarket caught up.

3/14The highlight of the car, from Keisler's perspective, is the new, trick A-41 automatic transmission and adapter bellhousing.

It did, and by February 2008 the project was back in full swing, with John and Pat Macioce of Empire Mopars in New Windsor, New York, taking charge. They didn't approve of the previous bodywork, so nearly the entire rear half of the car's sheetmetal was replaced with new parts from Auto Metal Direct (AMD). AMD also provided a new Shaker hood when the original was found to be rusty. After welding seams, adding SV Motorsports subframe connectors, and prepping the body, Empire laid down the House of Kolor Tangelo Pearlescent Orange paint to the top and bottom of the car.

By this time, FAST had come out with a controller for the 16-plug Hemi, so that part of the project could finally be realized. Mylon Keasler of Keasler Racing (Marysville, Tennessee) went through the engine and reassembled it with Ferrea valves and titanium retainers and ported the heads. The stock intake was not about to adapt to the Shaker hood, so instead an XV Motorsports single-plane intake and a FAST low-profile throttle body take care of the induction. The dyno showed 498 hp and 465 lb-ft, which is respectable, but the real focus of this project is the transmission.

4/14TTI headers were used on the 6.1L Hemi.

Keisler's A-41 automatic is based on a reworked Hydramatic 4L65E, which uses a removable bellhousing. Keisler cast bellhousings to mate the trans to big and small Mopars, Gen II and III Mopar Hemis, and all versions of the small- and big-block Chevy, including Vortec and LS styles (BOP applications are pending). The trick part of this trans is it features engine braking and paddle shifting, which Shafi loves to show off.

Shafi wanted the car to play the Pro Touring part and do everything well, so XV Motorsports got the nod to supply the suspension parts. XV's lower-cost Level 1 system has higher-rate torsion bars, lower-rate rear leaf springs, a big 1 1/8-inch front sway bar, and monotube shocks. A Firm Feel rear sway bar, 1-inch-lowered rear spring mounts, and heavy-duty strut and tie rods were also used, while the K-member and control arms are stock. The brakes are XV's kit with 13-inch front rotors and 12-inchers in the back with PBR calipers.

Shafi wasn't a real fan of the quality of Barracuda and Challenger interiors, particularly the weak electrical systems, so he set out to modernize it without losing the original feel. Redline Gaugeworks redid the dash with an SRT8-ish look that used Auto Meter gauges with Redline-printed silver faces. It's all set off with BEA Parts' woodgrain, metal-trimmed bezels. Just Dashes restored most of the interior panels, adding a thin layer of foam under the new skin and creating a neat, soft-touch feel. Legendary Auto Interiors rebuilt the seat frames and reupholstered them in black leather and an original black and orange houndstooth material. Other interior details include a trick headliner from Millsaps Upholstery (Maryville, Tennessee), custom dome lights and an autodimming rearview mirror, XV seatbelts, Vintage Air A/C, and Electric-Life power windows.

5/14It took a few years to make it work, but the 6.1L Hemi looks at home in the '71.

It's now done and has already completed its first Power Tour with good results. If you're going to any of the major shows that Keisler displays at, you will no doubt see the Maximum Overdrive Kuda.